Wolff and Binotto have clashed over a number of issues while leading their respective teams over the past four seasons, particularly until 2019 amid concerns over the legality of Ferrari’s powertrain.
Ferrari announced last week that Binotto had resigned from his post and would leave Maranello at the end of the month, ending a 28-year stint with the Scuderia. The news has left one of F1’s most high-profile jobs vacant, with Ferrari saying it will finalize a replacement in the new year.
Speaking on F1’s Beyond the Grid podcast, Mercedes team principal Wolff said it was “no secret” that he and Binotto “have had our moments” in recent years, but have estimated that they had been “consolidated” until 2022.
“We were in a much better place,” Wolff said. “But it was always clear that he was under enormous pressure. As a team principal at Ferrari, you better have a good contract for his exit.
“Now the inevitable probably happened, but he hung on longer than I thought.”
As well as being Ferrari’s F1 team principal, Binotto was also its technical chief after taking over in 2016. Prior to that, he oversaw Ferrari’s engine division, giving him one of the CVs. the largest in the paddock.
When asked if Binotto’s experience and pedigree would one day interest him in working at Mercedes, potentially overseeing its High Performance Powertrains branch, Wolff ruled out the possibility.
“No, I think there was too much broken china between us in the last two years for that to be possible,” Wolff said.
“With the other teams, I can’t say. But certainly Mattia understands Formula 1 thoroughly, and yes, maybe he will find a role in another team.
Alfa Romeo’s Frédéric Vasseur has been tipped to succeed Mattia Binotto at Ferrari.
Photo by: FIA Pool
Alfa Romeo team principal Frederic Vasseur is the current favorite to take over at Ferrari, but Wolff felt it was “very difficult to judge” who would be the right candidate for the job.
“You have to understand motor racing, maybe more than Formula 1,” Wolff said.
“But it’s such a niche where the sport, the regulations, the governing body, the commercial rights holder, the competitors, we’re all basically locked in that paddock cage. You have to be politically savvy.
“It’s a very specialized specialized environment. The more you know about the sport, the better. But you don’t want to be a one-trick pony either.
“You can be a good race director and not understand everything that’s going on commercially or outside of the world.”
